If that were true we'd have had fully autonomous FSD 5 years ago, to say nothing of "pedo guy". Over the last 8 years I've seen nothing to suggest Elon is a reliable source of information about anything.
Genuine doesn’t mean what you think it means. FSD is late because Elon underestimated it while working on it as fast as Tesla can, not because he’s a liar who’s walking his dog around the office instead of running the business and rebranding Siemens machines as his own.
He has admitted time and time again, on twitter and in interviews, that FSD has been a series of "local maximas" which each time given him and his team a false sense of reaching the full self driving capability. So yes, when pushing the edge of tech, it's not easy to estimate timelines and he's admitted that. What more do you want? For him to call it quits or get into magic and pull rabbits out of a hat?
A single space telescope, the James Webb's, which is far less involved than FSD (runs in controlled environment, albeit harsh, doesn't interact with anything but well known objects and is produced once with little cost optimization, since it's not sold in mass volumes and need not attract customers) has been delayed time and time again and run over budget by multiple factors, amounting to billions of dollars. No one said along the way that the project leaders were liars who knew they couldn't build the telescope but just wanted to spend tax payers money.
Most of the takes on that event drastically misrepresent the facts in order to make him look worse than any other normal human getting caught up in a flare of emotion after having something important attacked.
Elsewhere here, you said you've watched his interviews and yet you missed him mention, more than the dozen times over the past few years, how he split his times between his companies?
> Please do inform us then.
I've pointed you to where you can find that out yourself. If you actually care to learn something, you'll spend the time. But if you're content with your preconceptions and the media's take on Elon, whatever I say here will fall on deaf ears.
Imagine hiring a house cleaner, who would insist you be present in the house when the house is being cleaned?
That's really the root of this discussion - can you offer worse terms than other employers you're competing with for talent, while also being kind of a dick about it, without hurting the success of your company?
Yes! When you have leverage, you can. What's the leverage? The amazing opportunity to work on tech that will power the future and all the challenges that come with it. Furthermore, ability to work in an environment where you are not restricted by traditional business hierarchy and practices that inhibit innovation. I know dozens of Tesla employees who've echoed the same sentiment, saying how much of more freedom and autonomy they have at Tesla, compared to their previous employers.
Also what's viewed as "being a dick" is clearly relative. I see a frank and no BS memo which is closed to interpretation and doesn't waste anyone's time. As The Wolf puts it:
> if I'm curt with you it's because time is a factor ... so pretty please with sugar on top, clean the fucking car
You are grossly misinformed by how Elon spends his time and seem to have read a few headlines years ago and assume that’s all he does.
I suggest you listen to some of his interviews where people specifically ask how many hours he works a week, and on what, and you’ll soon realize, no one, even factory workers can match his work ethics and time spent at the company.
He takes his own medicine religiously, that you can count on.